afd
2014-06-20 07:43:43 UTC
""When we first started to use computers in the office they were
character based (DOS or Unix) and the objective was to save labour by
automating tasks. Efficient databases in particular saved a huge amount
of time searching for infromation on paper, and early character-based
wordprocessors were much easier to use than a mechanical typewriter. Then
came Windows and Microsoft Office. Suddenly, the computer was no longer a
tool for automation, but a tool for printing paper forms that had to be
filled in by hand. The database in Office (Access) was next to useless,
as were almost all early GUI databases, so the automation and labour
saving of DOS days was out. Instead, the focus was on eye-candy and
frippery, such as fancy fonts and justified text. The office staff
delighted in this change of focus since kept them in a job turning out
forms manually, whereas the efficient automation of tasks by character-
based computers had threatened to make their job title superfluous. So, I
think it's more the case that the role of the desktop computer has been
'adjusted' to comply with the wishes of the box-tickers, for a machine
that soaks-up spare time on pointless prettification, but doesn't
automate things so well that it threatens their job. We see the
continuation of this process with the pointless and time-wasting, willy-
nilly shifts in desktop interface design epitomised by Windows 8."
Article: "Open your company's doors and let the machines in - the economy
depends on it" http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/10889934/Open-your-
companys-doors-
character based (DOS or Unix) and the objective was to save labour by
automating tasks. Efficient databases in particular saved a huge amount
of time searching for infromation on paper, and early character-based
wordprocessors were much easier to use than a mechanical typewriter. Then
came Windows and Microsoft Office. Suddenly, the computer was no longer a
tool for automation, but a tool for printing paper forms that had to be
filled in by hand. The database in Office (Access) was next to useless,
as were almost all early GUI databases, so the automation and labour
saving of DOS days was out. Instead, the focus was on eye-candy and
frippery, such as fancy fonts and justified text. The office staff
delighted in this change of focus since kept them in a job turning out
forms manually, whereas the efficient automation of tasks by character-
based computers had threatened to make their job title superfluous. So, I
think it's more the case that the role of the desktop computer has been
'adjusted' to comply with the wishes of the box-tickers, for a machine
that soaks-up spare time on pointless prettification, but doesn't
automate things so well that it threatens their job. We see the
continuation of this process with the pointless and time-wasting, willy-
nilly shifts in desktop interface design epitomised by Windows 8."
Article: "Open your company's doors and let the machines in - the economy
depends on it" http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/10889934/Open-your-
companys-doors-